Japanese - Listening

This being a blog and all, I can't say much about speaking practice, but for listening, True Listening, most Drama CD's will do.

I'll actually have to admit, I think they are a tad slower then a native speaker.

Listening to this has multiple effects.

1. It helps you develop an ear for Japanese, and believe me, if you want to live and work in Japan, you will need an ear. They talk fast (Granted if you look non-Japanese they will speak slower)

2. Learn to pick out words you need to make an answer, listen for certain. Even when I speak and listen to Japanese, I rarely process the entire sentence, this is helpful on a test (say AP or JLPT), where they are speaking fast, and you can only make out a few words anyway.

Because that was all pretty badly written (re-watching IDOLM@STER right now):

tl;dr

Listen until Japanese doesn't sound fast anymore.

and by fast, I mean this:

Don't read the subtitles, just press play and then minimize the window. Pure listening. See what your up against.

I tend to find that when watching anime raw, they still talk slower then in real life, or on a CD.

There are also a lot of Drama CD's on CRAZY-CAKE

The Hyakumonogatari Original Drama CD is something I would also recommend.

Random note:

Season 2 when?

Japanese 101 - Suggestions (ます)

I know, I know, I said I was closing it.

Well, during my stay in Japan, I realized that many of the questions asked to me were suggestions, and then I spent a while wondering if I had ever added that to "Japanese 101". Checked 101, it wasn't there, so here you go

Well, like all the other general ます conjugations, it's easy. Take the ~ます ending, cut it off, and replace it with ~ましょう

So, eat (more accurately "will eat") 食べます, becomes 食べましょう, do you wan't to eat?

Also, the です ending, can become でしょう, which can be used to suggest non-verbs.
It's a bad example, but 冒険でしょうでしょう (Boken Deshou Deshou) the name of the Haruhi ED, is saying "It's an adventure isn't it?" so, basically suggesting that something is an adventure.

I'll add this to the Japanese 101 page.

Japanese 101 - Closure

Ahem, so it's been a nice month.
I am closing Japanese 101.

Thanks for reading!

==================

この日は「日本語その一」の最後日
皆さん、読みました、ありがとうございました！

Japanese 101 - Counters Part 2

Continuation of Part 1

~さつ  is the counter for books, ~さい  is the counter for age
The both follow the same pattern.
いっさつ for one、はっさつ for two, then use the general number ~さつ for the rest
いっさい for one、はっさい for two, then use the general number ~さい for the rest

~ほん is for long cylindrical objects. It follows an irregular pattern, so I will list them

いっぽん - 1
にほん - 2
さんぼん - 3
よほん - 4
ごほん - 5
ろっぽん - 6
ななほん - 7
はっぽん - 8
きゅうほん - 9
じゅっぽん - 10
After 10, just use #~ほん

~まえ is the counter for flat things (paper for example)

You can use counters make your Japanese sound more natural.

For instance, if you wanted to say 5 pencils, you could say
五えんぴつです (5 pencils) or
ごほん (these 5)

Makes you sound better.

hm. This wasn't as long as I'd anticipated

Japanese 101 - Household objects

いす [いす] chair	鉛筆 [えんぴつ] pencil	携帯電話 [けいたいでんわ] cellular phone
消しゴム [けしゴム] eraser	ごみ箱 [ごみばこ] trash can	雑誌 [ざっし] magazine
辞書 [じしょ] dictionary	座布団 [ざぶとん] cushion	写真 [しゃしん] photograph, picture
新聞 [しんぶん] newspaper	机 [つくえ] desk	床の間 [とこのま] alcove
電気スタンド [でんきスタンド] desk lamp	縫いぐるみ [ぬいぐるみ] stuffed toy	端書き [はがき] postcard
箱 [はこ] box	筆箱 [ふでばこ] pencil case	布団 [ふとん] Japanese-style mattress and quilt
本棚 [ほんだな] bookshelf, bookcase	物差 [ものさし] ruler	徒弟 [とけい] clock
庭 [にわ] garden, court	鞄 [かばん] bag, handbag	雑誌 [ざっし] magazine, journal
自転車 [じてんしゃ] bicycle	町 [まち] town, city	Enjoy!

Small not for でんきスタンド, dont use it.

It's strange, it literally means "Electric Stand" , and the Japanese would not normally use it do describe desk light.

Something like 机の光, or 机の上に光 would be a better word

Japanese 101 - A small reading

Typed up something for you all to read and see.

Ok, just so you know, this isn't really a "correct" jikoushoukai per se, but just something to read and use to gauge yourself.

Looking in retrospect, it really is funny to read, given how awkward the phrasing is.
I didn't even follow the sentence structure.

TXT files

Mediafire - Here
Public Dropbox - Here

You may need Kochi Mincho, which can be downloaded HERE

If you are a windows, extract, and put the file in your "Fonts" folder, which can be accessed through the control panel.
I have no idea what to do for Macs though

Japanese 101 - School words

Because every show has a high school cast.

何年生　ですか。 [なんねんせい ですか。] what grade are you in?	学 [がく、まなぶ] learning, study	校 [こう] school
年 [ねん] year, age	生 [せい] life	学校 [がっこう] school
中学 [ちゅうがく] middle school	来年 [らいねん] next year	今年 [ことし] this year
学生 [がくせい] student	何年生 [なんねんせい] what year/grade	掃除 [そうじ] cleaning
部活 [ぶかつ] club activities	国語 [こくご] (one's own country) language	体育 [たいいく] Gym/ P.E Class
音楽 [おんがく] music	歴史 [れきし] history	地理 [ちり] geography
美術 [びじゅつ] art, fine arts	経済 [けいざい] economy, economics	化学 [かがく] chemistry
生物 [せいぶつ] biology	数学 [すうがく] mathematics	家庭科 [かていか] home economics
保健 [ほけん] health	昼休み [ひるやすみ] lunch break	自己紹介 [じこしょうかい] self-introduction
紹介 [しょうかい] introduction	私立学校 [しりつがっこう] private school	公立学校 [こうりつがっこう] public school
部屋 [へや] room	今 [いま] now	科目 [かもく] school subject
技術 [ぎじゅつ] industrial arts	だいがく [だいがく] college, university	Enjoy!

Small note: Something like けいざい would be your classic econ course, while かていか would be something like foods or fabric arts.

Japanese 101 - Counters - Part I

Counters, they can be very useful in Japanese.
They can make your Japanese sound more natural.
They are also, not that difficult.
I'd go as far as to say the hardest part of Japanese isn't the grammar, but all the Kanji.

This will be lengthy, so I'll split it up.

General Counters
Each one, is "# Thing"

One thing - ひとつ - (一つ)
Two things - ふたつ - (二つ)
Three things - みっつ - (三つ)
Four things - よっつ - (四つ)
Five things - いつつ - (五つ)
Six things - むっつ - (六つ)
Seven things - ななつ - (七つ)
Eight things - やっつ - (八つ)
Nine things - ここのつ - (九つ)
Ten things - とうつ - (十つ)

After ten, you can just use normal numbers ~つ, this goes for any counter.
Unless stated to use normal numbers, or their own special (like below), it follows the numbering pattern of the general counters

The Counters for people is ひと, 人
You only have to use special numbers for the first two, then normal numbers ~ひと for the rest.

One person - ひとり - (一人)
Two People - ふたり - (二人)

The counters for cups and machines use normal numbers
Machines can be, computers, phones, ect. ect.

Machines: ~だい
Cups: ~ばい

Japanese 101 - Time

Telling time in Japanese.

For hours, it is "Number"じ (時)

So 4:00 would be よんじ - (四時)

Use normal numbers,  but for seven use しち instead of なな

Minutes would be "Number"ぷん/ふん

I don't when to use ぷん over ふん, it's some strange rule. But I don't think it will matter, because the Japanese will be able to understand you anyway.

minutes follow hours

So, 4:25 would be よんじにじゅうごぷん - (四時二十五分)

To say half and hour, use はん, ぷん/ふん is not needed after a はん

so 4:30 would be よんじはん - (四時半)

To say approximate times, use ごろ

To say, it's around 4:30, it would be よんじはんごろ - (四時半ごろ)

To say, __ Minutes before use まえ - (前) after the minute

So 4:55 could be said ごじごぷんまえ - (五時五分前)

Listen carefully when using this, because if you miss the まえ, your time will be off

To express PM/AM

use ごご and ごぜん

ごご being PM

ごぜん being AM

These are used before the hour

So 4:30 AM would be 

ごぜんよんじはん - (午前四時半)

Here we go again....

Puella Magi English Stream

The dub is crap anyway, most dubs are inferior to subs.
I'd watch it for the Japanese subtitles, to help with reading.

I might join in, thoughts on this?

Japanese 101 - Using Clothes

This post will be about how to say "I am wearing _____"

The Japanese have 3 words for this
きます - Above the waist clothing
あぶります - Headwear
はきます - Below the waist

Remember, if you are wearing something, put it into the ~ている/~ています (Gerund) form

Use the proper particles, when dictated. Typically the を particle.

I am wearing a red hat
いま、僕は赤い帽子をかぶています

I am wearing a blue shirt
いま、僕は青いシャツをきています

I am wearing a pair of green pants.
いま、僕は緑ズボンをはいています

来週の日本語の授業

来週の日本語の授業は

①ナンバー

②時間 (じかん)

③助数詞 (じょすうし)

Next week we will be focusing on numbers, time, and counters.

Japanese 101 - Clothes

Words for Articles of Clothing.
Yeah... Lots of Katakana in this list

シャツ shirt	セーター sweater	T シャツ T Shirt
ジャケット jacket	ワンピース dress	水着 [みずぎ] bathing suit, swimsuit
朽つ [くつ] shoes, boots	ジンズ jeans	スカート skirt
スニーカー sneakers	ズボン trousers, pants	パジャマ pajamas
ブーツ boots	アクセサリ             accessories	イヤリング                     earrings
ネクタイ tie, necktie	時計 [とけい] watch	眼鏡 [めがね] glasses
サングラス sunglasses	帽子 [ぼうし] hat, cap	row 2, cell 2

Japanese 101 - Inviting Mini-lesson

To invite someone to do something is also very easy in Japanese.

You invite in the negative form.
See here for negative

Examples:
えいがをいきませんか？
Literal: You won't go to the movies with me??
TL: Want to go to the movies with me?

ほんをよみませんか？
Literal: You won't read that book?
TL: Want to read that book?

To answer yes, say
いいえ、VERBましょう

Because, remember, they asked if you will not, so if you will, you have to respond with negative

The  ~しょう ending, though not covered earlier, is a suggestion, so, to use it as an example:

A: えいがをいきませんか？
B: いいえ、いきましょう

A: Want to go to the movies with me?
B: Sure, lets go

Japanese 101 - Colors

Colors, I will be away for most of the day, so don't expect that many things posted today.

赤 [あかい] Red	青い [あおい] Blue
黄色い [きいろい] Yellow	黒い [くろい] Black, Dark
白い [しろい] White, Blank	茶色 [ちゃいろ] Light Brown
緑 [みどり] Green	灰色 [はいいろ] Gray
紫 [むらさき] Purple	ピンク [ピンク] Pink
オレンジ [オレンジ] Orange	金髪 [きんぱつ] Blonde (hair)
桃色 [ももいろ] Pink、Peach Colored

10 heads? More? Less?

Japanese 101 - Linking Adjectives (Mini-Lesson)

Linking adjectives are fairly easy.

With い adjectives, take the い off, and add くて.
If no い is present, then add くて directly.
Do not add くて to the last adjective, leave it as it is.

Example:

I want to say "This computer is old and loud"
The words for old is ふるい, and loud is うるさい

so ふるい would become ふるくて, and you would leave うるさい as it is.
このパスコンがふるくてうるさいです


With な adjectives, just add くて afterwards, no changing needed

Example:
I want to say "Yuki is quiet and beautiful isn't she"

Quiet is しずか, which becomes しずかくて, and beautiful, きれい (this is a な adjective), we leave as it is, because it is the last adjective in the list.

ゆきがしずかくてきれいですね。

Japanese 101 - Giving Reasons Mini-lesson

So for today, I will tell you how to give a reason in Japanese.

The format is simple;
Reason から Result.

Among other things, から can mean because.

Examples:

このシャツがあおいから、僕がすきです
Because it is blue, I like this shirt.

あいつがうるさくてめんどくさいから、僕があいつをはなしません
Because he is loud and annoying, I do not talk to him.

In this sentence I use an adjective conjugation not covered in the main list. I will release it as a mini-lesson today as well.

Japanese 101 Update

It's very likely that I will close Japanese 101 within 30 days.
I'd say between 2 weeks, to a month.

It won't be the end of Japanese, Just the basics.
I don't know when 102 will be, or what I will write about in it.

Kanji wont be until later, possibly 102 or 103.
That, and I have not learned all 3000 Kanji yet, only on 1000 ish.

Because as a personal 意見 if you want to visit Japan, speaking should take priority over reading.
You can always ask someone このかんじはなんですか？ if you don't know.

As a side note, I also think that the stroke order is fairly useless.
I took 6 years of Chinese, learned the stroke orders, and no one cared, checked, or graded.

It just makes your writing look more authentic, but nothing much to it anyway.

Japanese 101 - Adjective Conjugations (Finally!)

Here are the long promised adjective conjugations!
These are more informal, because I don't know the formal ones.

Adjectives are split into 2 groups, な, and い adjectives.
These two have different styles of conjugation.

 い always end with い.
With い adjectives;

-To put it into the present negative, replace ~い with ~くない
-To put it into the past, replace ~い with ~かった
-To put it into the past negative, replace ~い with ~くなかった

Example:

He isn't strong ;_;
あいつ が つよくない

He was strong
あいつ が つよかった

He was not strong
あいつ が つよくなかった

Easy isn't it?
There is one exception.
The adjective いい (Good)
It's conjugated as よい

So
よくない - Not good
よかった - Thats good (past)
よくなかった - Was not good


Now for な adjectives.
な adjectives don't always end in な, the only way to learn is to memorize which are which

We will use the word へん (strange) for this.

Lets start with the じゃconjugation
Negative past add ~ じゃありませんでした  to the adjective (as it is, don't add a な to it)
Negative add ~ じゃありません   to the adjective

 ~じゃない  is a more informal negative

Now the では Conjugation
Negative add ~ではありません
Past add ~でした
Negative past, add ~ではありませんでした

Examples:

Not strange
へんじゃありません　へんじゃない

Was Strange
へんじゃありませんでした

Not Strange
へんではありません

Was strange
へんではした

Wasn't strange
へんではありませんでした

Personally, the ~では sounds weird to me, as I am more use to using the ~じゃ

Japanese 101 - Plain-Past (mini lesson)

Hehe, how shameless of me.
Anyway, this derives off the て form

Plain past is easy, after you get the て form.

To conjugate a verb into the plain-past, but it into the て form, but use た instead of  て to end the verb.

In the interest of time, I till use the Group 2 verb めざめる (目覚める), or to wake up.

Dictionary form めざめる (to wake up)
て form めざめて ("wake up" command)
Gerund - めざめている (waking)
Plain-Past - めざめた (woke)

Obviously, it's used to describe things that have already happened.

I also use it in compare and contrasts with  こと/もの
But that's for another time